ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT; A Zappa Protégée Survives and Thrives

THERE are people on both coasts who think Nigey Lennon is crazy. An accomplished musician and protégée of Frank Zappa, Ms. Lennon left Hollywood last July 4 to pursue a music career on Long Island.

''People ask me, 'Are you insane?' '' Ms. Lennon said, laughing.

Insane, in other ways, she joked, but not about the move. She relocated to collaborate with John Tabacco, a producer and songwriter from Stony Brook. Mr. Tabacco, a musician and co-owner of Sonic Underground, a recording studio (and co-op for several local musicians), got in touch with Ms. Lennon in 1995 after reading her book, ''Being Frank,'' which chronicled her years with Mr. Zappa, as his friend, guitarist and lover.

''I read lots of accounts by people talking about their times with Frank,'' said Mr. Tabacco, a fan of Mr. Zappa, ''but many sounded like bunk. Nigey's book struck a chord. Everything she said rang true, and I strongly identified with her.''

Ms. Lennon, who grew up in Manhattan Beach, part of the South Bay area of Los Angeles, said her adjustment to moving east was not very dramatic. ''Manhattan Beach is very much like Long Island's North Shore,'' she said. It was also where her current boyfriend, Eric Weaver, a teacher at Smithtown High School, grew up.

''Despite what people think,'' said Ms. Lennon, 46, ''L.A. isn't the most conducive place to launch a career. If you want to be a pop star, maybe. But if you're different or creative, it doesn't matter where you are, it'll be a struggle anywhere.''

Growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, Ms. Lennon's childhood was mostly reclusive due to a birth defect affecting her hip (which was corrected when she was 5). She spent her time reading, playing guitar, listening to music and collecting 78-r.p.m. recordings. She became particularly enamored with instrumentals: ragtime, Western swing, jazz and classical. ''I hated vocals,'' she said. ''I hated sappy, syrupy vocals.''

Her life took a turn when she first saw Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention's 1966 debut album ''Freak Out!'' ''There was something about the album cover that drew me to it,'' she said of the dramatic psychedelic design, ''and when I listened to the record, I was fascinated. I didn't understand it, sociologically, but it had incredible guitar playing. I liked the attitude.''

Ms. Lennon might have found a kindred spirit in Mr. Zappa, who performed an irreverent, jazzy mix of experimental rock and classical. A bit of a rebel herself, she said she was expelled from high school because she refused to take gym.

By this time, at 15, she had recorded a demo of her music and mailed it to Mr. Zappa's record company, Bizarre. ''Much to my absolute amazement, I received a call asking me to come to his house because he wanted to meet me,'' she said. When she met him, he complimented her work, but said he did not think it was ready to be recorded. Buoyed by the experience, Ms. Lennon continued with her music.

In 1971, she attended a Mothers concert at U.C.L.A., and after the show went backstage. Mr. Zappa remembered her and asked her to join his band as a floating guitarist. Ms. Lennon said she would.

''There was definitely the novelty value of having a 17-year-old girl playing guitar during a time when there were hardly any female guitarists,'' said Ms. Lennon, who was on the road with Mr. Zappa for a year as he promoted his film ''200 Motels.''

During this period, she said, she became his lover -- a relationship that ended when Mr. Zappa's wife, Gail, learned of it. But Ms. Lennon and Mr. Zappa remained friends until 1975, she said, when she became a journalist and he became fearful that she would write about him. They never spoke after that. Mr. Zappa died of prostate cancer in 1993 at age 52.

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In the past, Mrs. Zappa has disputed Ms. Lennon's claims, but others like David Walley, who wrote the Frank Zappa biography ''No Commercial Potential,'' say that Ms. Lennon is telling the truth. ''I first met her in 1971 when she was living under Frank Zappa's piano,'' he said. When asked about Mrs. Zappa's dismissal of Ms. Lennon, he said: ''Please, please, please, please. What Nigey says is absolutely true.''

Andrew Greenaway, of Essex, England, is the editor of a fan-based Frank Zappa newsletter. ''There are some who dismiss her claims,'' he said. ''But whatever the truth, it's clear that she did have some sort of meaningful relationship with Frank.''

Mr. Greenaway said, ''She is a very talented musician'' whose music was greatly influenced by her relationship with Mr. Zappa.

Ms. Lennon has progressed since her early days with Mr. Zappa, Mr. Walley said. ''When Frank first met her, he was interested because she was a hot-looking chick and a decent player. She has turned into a real musician who knows the tools of the trade, like composition. She's a classicist in a way.''

Another supporter of Ms. Lennon is Frank Zappa's younger sister, Candy, a vocalist who befriended Ms. Lennon after reading her book in 1996. ''I like the way she keeps his legacy alive through his influence in her music,'' Ms. Zappa said. The two have since become friends and Ms. Zappa sings three songs on ''Reinventing the Wheel,'' Ms. Lennon's debut CD released last December, including ''Anyway the Wind Blows,'' a remake of a song from ''Freak Out.''

While they were together, Mr. Zappa was preparing to produce Ms. Lennon's debut album. Two songs from that recording, including ''Yer Wife Don't Like Me,'' were included on ''Reinventing the Wheel.''

After she and Mr. Zappa stopped speaking, Ms. Lennon married Lionel Rolfe, divorced after 25 years, wrote songs and authored eight books ranging in theme from Mark Twain (''Sagebrush Bohemian'') to Alfred Jarry, the French Dadaist playwright (''The Man with the Axe'').

In 1998, she found out she had cervical cancer. Her music helped her get through the radiation treatment, she said, and the cancer is in remission.

Now she is concentrating on a new collaboration with Mr. Tabacco, a Zappa-inspired musical she hopes to perform with the Ed Palmero Big Band. Mr. Palermo is known for arranging and performing Zappa music.

Ms. Lennon will not tour to promote ''Reinventing the Wheel,'' but hopes to perform the musical soon. '' 'Reinventing' is too complex,'' she said. ''There are lots of tracks. You can't really perform it live.'' Her album and the book ''Being Frank'' are available on her Web site, www.nigeylennon.com.

Taking its cue from Mr. Zappa's album ''Just Another Band From L.A.,'' Ms. Lennon laughs about the direction her life has taken. ''Now,'' she said, ''I'm just another band from L.I.''